“So I stopped at Pilot on Cumberland Ave today on my way home and noticed a Knoxville Police Department officer pull up to the pump and open the door for a gentleman that was sitting in the cruiser on the passenger side and out he steps with a gas can,” Van Norstran said in a Facebook post. “The officer then walks to the pump reaches for his wallet, swipes his debit card and proceeds to fill the gentleman's gas can.”

Knoxville police said that Officer Zack Herman noticed the unidentified man after he ran out of gas on a nearby highway.

The man told the officer it was too late in the evening to cash his paycheck to fill up his tank. So the officer drove the man to get gas and paid for it out of his own pocket, police said.

“He [the officer] deserves the praise and recognition,” Van Norstran told InsideEdition.com. “In a world of protest, hate, debate, racism, violence and lack of respect for one another, it's nice to know that there are officers such as this one [who] exemplify professionalism and what it means to protect and serve!”

Van Norstran said he has since contacted Herman through Facebook and hopes to do something nice for the officer.

“It's small things such as this that make our police officers not only human, but it also shows how caring and compassionate they are for the people they serve,” the police department wrote on Facebook.